NASHOBA REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
May 3, 2007
SCHOOL COMMITTEE IN ATTENDANCE: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly (6:10), David
Horne
ABSENT:[Marker] Don Adams, Laura O’Neil
ADMINISTRATION IN ATTENDANCE: Michael Wood, Superintendent of Schools, George King, Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Margaret Morgan, Hale Middle School Principal, Tracy Conte, Assistant Director of Special education
CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chair Cathy Giunta called the meeting to order at 6:07 PM. in the NRHS Media Center.
BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING
Mr. Wood presented the Nashoba Regional School District FY 08 budget to members of the community in attendance.
APPROVAL OF THE WARRANTS OF MAY 4, 2007
WARRANT NO. DATE DESCRIPTION AMOUNT
2773 [Marker] 5/03/[Marker]07 VENDOR $232,491.48
2774 5/03/07 BENEFIT $ 38,822.94
2775 5/03/07 PAYROLL $ 962,459.76
2776 5/03/07 VENDOR $733.67
MOTION
Brian Burke made a motion to approve the warrants as detailed in the memo dated 5/03/07 and noted above. Seconded by Mel Govindan [Marker]IN[Marker] FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
APPROVAL OF THE WARRANTS OF APRIL 20, 2007
WARRANT NO. DATE DESCRIPTION AMOUNT
2770 [Marker]4/20/[Marker]07 VENDOR $378,943.10
2771 4/20/07 BENEFIT $ 615,509.05
2772 4/20/07 PAYROLL $ 991,303.83
MOTION
Ellen Sturgis made a motion to approve the warrants as detailed in the memo dated 4/18/07 and noted above. Seconded by Mel Govindan IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne ABSTAINED: Brian Burke,
VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (6-1-0)
APPROVAL OF THE April 5, 2007 MINUTES
The committee decided to look at these minutes and approve them at their next meeting.
CORRESPONDENCE
¨ Email correspondence from a parent regarding high school principal search.
¨ Letter regarding Beacon Villager article concerning the Stow Building Task Force (SBTF) and the Massachusetts’s School Building Authority’s (MSBA) approval for school building plans.
¨ PowerPoint handouts of the FY06 and FY07 District Fuel maintenance data.
¨ Boston Globe article regarding turf fields.
¨ Letter from School Committee Chair to Mr. Eckland.
¨ Letter from the Department of Education informing the District of the approval of the district Technology Plan.
¨ Letter from the Florence Sawyer Destination Imagination team.
¨ FY 08 NRSD Budget Newsletter.
¨ Class size data.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Mr. Wood recognized Ms. Kelly and Ms. Sturgis as they are retiring from School Committee and this would be there last meeting as School Committee members. He presented each of them with a certificate of recognition and thanked them for their service to the Nashoba Regional School District.
FIRST Team Robo-Chiefs
The NRHS Robotics team presented the robot they created for the recent FIRST Robotics competition. The team recognized School Committee member Ellen Sturgis for her dedication, enthusiasm and all her help in coordinating the team. Ms. Sturgis introduced the following team members, listed below:
¨
¨ Chris Haid
¨ Yivan Jiang
¨ Marc Macleod
¨ Ramesh Govindan
¨ Jacob Kopczinski
¨ Ian Hills
¨ Allie Spear
¨ Marjie Lam
¨ Justin Mills
¨ Ryan Boye
¨ Rhys Ursuliak
¨ Raymond Couture
¨ PT Patil
¨ John Stefos
Team members John Stefos and Ramesh Govindan explained the NRHS Robotics program and how the robot was created. Team members gave a demonstration of the robots capabilities. Ms. Sturgis told the committee and those in attendance that the Rob-Chiefs came in 15th out of 49 other teams. She added that the Nashoba team was invited to be part of the final Alliance Competition, which was a notable honor. Ms. Sturgis and the team recognized NRHS faculty member Al Fordiani for his guidance and help and also thanked the parents who helped and supported the team.
Mr. Govindan thanked Ellen Sturgis for her hard work and remarked that this year’s Robotics’ program would not have happened if it weren’t for her leadership.
Best Practices
Mr. Wood called the School Committee’s attention to the invitation to the NRSD staff exhibition on Best Practices, which was included in their packet. This event is scheduled to take place on May 25th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Nashoba Regional High School.
(The following is the report distributed in the School Committee packets and given by Mr. Wood. This report is also available on the district website at www.nrsd.net)
“Capital Campaign
I am pleased to report some progress on our capital campaign. The Endowment Foundation at the High School has tentatively agreed to be the fiscal agent for this effort. We are also working on getting campaign leaders from each community. We will be putting together a flyer to mail out to all residents by mid June and that will be the kick off of our campaign. At our May 17 meeting I hope to have a formal committee to name so that the School Committee can formally recognize the group, their mission, and their fund raising goals. It may also be a good time for the committee to articulate their stand regardless of whether the fund raising goals are met.
Gale Engineering has been hired to conduct the first phase of a feasibility study. This work will be done prior to the end of this fiscal year so that some of schematics can be used in our flyer.
There are two major events that have happened or are about to happen of which I want to apprise the committee: one is the effort of Stow Soccer to put in new fields at either the Snow property and Pine Bluffs (located at Lake Boon) or just at Pine Bluffs. This effort includes soccer fields and some outdoor performing areas. This effort will include some fund-raising. I also learned that the Massachusetts Soccer League, which is building the soccer fields in Lancaster, is now looking to book non league events at their fields. This may impact our projected revenue stream in the future.
Town Meeting Preparation
All three Town Meetings are going to start on May 7, 2007. As far as I know the District’s budget will be on this night in all three communities. As we did last year, committee representatives will be available to answer questions, and prepared to do a formal presentation. I will have it arranged so that George King will be at Lancaster, I will be in Stow, and Sally will be in Bolton. If Committee representatives want to get together and appoint a spokesperson, I will make sure each District Administrative representative will know.
District Budget Newsletters
This year we have a budget newsletter going to every home and post office box. They will be mailed early next week. Many thanks to Michelle Cote for her desk top publishing skills. George and she did an excellent job with this year’s edition.
Results of Operations
I have included in the packet for your review the Results of Operations and an accompanying memo Mr. King has sent to me as a summary. As you can see, as a result of a number of efforts by our administrators the District has managed its resources well. We are going into the fourth quarter in better financial condition to end on a positive note.
Administrative Reorganization
I have included my organization chart for 2007 – 2008. There are two notable changes that I want to be sure the committee is aware and how these changes will benefit the overall management of our district to realize its goals. The first is that I am recommending the upgrade of the human resources manager to Director of Human Resources. There are two reasons for this change: one is to have someone with a professional background in organizational planning to be able to lead the office with regard to personnel planning, hiring and supervision; the second reason is that because this position is responsible for oversight of two thirds of the budget, I have felt for a long time that I needed a position with the responsibility to analyze payroll and benefit transactions. This position will have more of a district
presence related to working with principals in the areas of supervision, benefits explanation, and professional development
The second recommendation is to not fill the Director of Technology position. In the last few months I have been able to see first hand that there really are two needs in Technology. One is to administer the technological infrastructure. The second is to work with all teachers to integrate technology in the classroom and to support our Instructional Technology Specialists see that technology is not an end, but a means. To lead this effort my recommendation is to transfer the position to a curriculum supervisor and to work with Teaching and Learning cooperatively to see that these goals are realized. The District has a network administrator position and I see that position as working well, but now reporting directly to the Assistant Superintendent.
I have not made a final decision as to whether to fill the vacancy of Assistant Director of Special Education. I believe it would be best to start the year without filling it and see how we are progressing. Two years ago we did not have such a position, however, it was clear that one Team Chair position was delegated many of the responsibilities that now have become the Assistant Director’s responsibilities. We have about the same number of students in special education. I would like to look for more efficiency in managing existing positions before filling the Assistant Director’s position. Regardless, any filling of this position will need to happen within the current FY 08 budget.
Assistant Principal Position – MRE
Ms. Linenkemper has recommended and I have approved the hiring of Ms. Diane Tenen to fill the position of Assistant Principal at Mary Rowlandson Elementary School. She is currently a multiage grades three and four teacher at Mary Rowlandson Elementary School. She has extensive background in curriculum design, instructional practices and assessment. She will be starting July 1, 2007.
Architectural Firm
The Facilities Sub Committee has taken a vote and is recommending that Pagano and Lamoureux out of Worcester complete the feasibility study. We will enter into negotiations with them after an affirmative vote at the School Committee. This study will enable us to further understand the high school’s space needs and define a space for District Administrative Offices. I have books here at Central Office if you would like to look at their prior work. Call Linda and she will arrange to get them to you.
Condolences
I want to extend my condolences to the family of David Hill (15), who passed away on Wednesday, May 3, 2007, of congestive heart failure at UMASS Hospital in Worcester. David is the son of David Hill of Lancaster and Jacqueline Hill of New Bedford. David’s brother Timothy attends Nashoba Regional High School where is a sophomore. There is also an older sibling whose name was not known at this time. David attended one of our collaborative classrooms at Ayer High School. All of his family was at his side at the time of his passing. Funeral arrangements are not known as of yet.
A Day on the Hill
A Day on the Hill was on Tuesday, May 1, 2007. David Horne and Ellen Sturgis joined me for the day hearing a speech from Governor Patrick in which he spoke about the need to fund education different from property taxes; a talk from newly elected Senate President Therese Murray where she highlighted the accomplishments of the last few years (she has been the chair of the senate education committee) and the proceeded to inform us that April’s revenue numbers were in, but were not as good as expected; Representative Hadaad gave a talk about the accomplishments that were a direct result of the listening tour of last fall, and that there was a commitment to hold the line of the changes in the formula; and lastly, we heard from Senator Antonioni who spoke of the need to address transportation for everyone, special education
transportation, the charter school finance formula and the circuit breaker. Overall, my feelings as though people are talking about the same issues but lack the excess revenue to add to the pot. Later in the day the house approved their budget. We met with Senator Resor and Representative Walrath. Representative Eldridge will be meeting with me on Monday afternoon here in my office and Senator Antonioni has met with me previously and was in hearings all afternoon. Representative Naughton was
scheduled during one of the presentations.
High School Principal Search
Mr. Irvine reports that the screening committee met yesterday and chose three candidates to interview. Questions have been chosen and these initial interviews are scheduled for May 9.
Special Education Parent Advisory Council
I facilitated a public forum on my nominee, Tracy Conte, for Director of Special Education. A small but representative group (ages of students and communities) asked questions about the vision of special education, provided suggestions for areas to look at for more and different ways to communicate and to look examine certain practices.
Enrollment Information
In your packet I provided you with information regarding current enrollment for each grade in our schools. I also asked Linda to contact a few neighboring communities I often hear mentioned as benchmark communities and feel we are comfortably within the same ranges. I also have looked at the make up of the classes involved and believe the rise to 23 (from 18/19) in our grade 4 at FSE in the Emerson wing will not impact the education of our students in school year 2007 - 2008. At this time, unless the class size of the first grade drops dramatically, it is Mr. Tucker’s plan to continue to have four fourth grade classes (shifting a third grade teacher to first grade.)”
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Ex-0fficio Report by Ms. O’Neil
(The following is from Ms. O’Neil who was not present at the meeting, but this report was distributed in the School Committee packets and read by Ms. Giunta)
¨ “The Battle of the Bands, held on April 6, brought in just over $2000 for the Friends of the Sudanese organization. Eight bands, performing music of various genres, competed for gift certificates to Minor Chord, a music store in Acton.
¨ The Mr. Nashoba Competition, for the first time ever, ended in a tie this year. Seniors Tim James and Will Morrison were both crowned. The pageant raised over $1,000 for the Alison J. Murphy Scholarship Fund.
¨ Over April Vacation, two groups of foreign language students went abroad. One traveled through Italy and the other around Germany. Also, over April break, students in band and chorus went to New York City. Their four day trip included visits to a wax museum, a jazz club, and Carnegie Hall, among others.
¨ Tomorrow, Friday, May 4, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Honors and AP Math classes will head to Fitchburg State College for the annual Elizabeth Haskins Math Competition.
¨ Jacob Kopczynski and Zachary Wassal have both qualified for the 32nd American Regions Mathematics League competition at Penn State University on June 2nd. They tried out for the Western Massachusetts Mathematics All Star team and each was granted one of 15 spots.
¨ The Drama Society’s last event, the annual Thespian Banquet will take place this Sunday, at the Collins Foundation in Stow. It will feature five hours of food, dancing, awards, and inductions into the International Thespian Society.
¨ Next Saturday, the Junior Prom will be held at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. The After Prom Party will follow at Orchard Hills Athletic Club in Lancaster.
In Sports:
¨ Last Saturday, the girls’ and boys’ track teams both took third place at the District Relay Meets (out of 13 schools). At the meet, the boys’ 4x400 and pole vault teams, each took first place. Their 3200m and high jump teams took second place, and they placed third in the distance medley and the 800m relay. The girls’ 4x400 team and sprint medley team also took first place. Their 4x200m team placed second, while
the high jump, pole vault, long jump, and javelin teams placed third. The boys’ team is 2-2 and the girls are 3-1 in dual meets, and both take on Gardner this afternoon.
¨ Yesterday (May 2, 2007) the varsity softball team defeated Marlboro High School with a 2-0 win. Earlier in the season, senior Courtney Collier pitched one of two perfect games across Massachusetts against Groton-Dunstable. The varsity baseball team, suffering from a 15-0 loss yesterday to Marlboro, has a record of 1-6 (1-3 in league play).
¨ The girls’ varsity tennis team remains undefeated at they face Algonquin Regional High School tomorrow afternoon. The boys’ team has only one loss and will take on Gardner High School on Monday.
¨ The girls’ lacrosse team is 3-0 with a game against St. Bernards High School this evening. The boys’ team will play at Littleton High School today.”
Facilities SubCommittee, by Ms. Kelly
Nothing to report.
Finance SubCommittee, by Ms. Giunta
Nothing to report.
Personnel SubCommittee, by Ms. Giunta
Nothing to report.
Policy SubCommittee, by Mr. Wood
Mr. Wood told the committee that the Policy Subcommittee reviewed nutritional guidelines at their last meeting. He said they also reviewed several policies, which included the Tuition and Donations Policy, as well as the Reporting to Parents Policy.
SPED PAC, by Mr. Burke
Mr. Burke introduced Ms. Joan Finger, who will be the new SPED PAC Chair beginning in the 2007-2008 school year. Ms. Finger addressed the committee and invited them to the next meeting of the SPED PAC, which she said would be two weeks from this evening, in the Florence Sawyer School library.
OLD BUSINESS
Appointment of Special Education Director
Ms. Giunta addressed the committee and asked if they would consider moving the appointment of the Special Education Director up, and taking that agenda item next. The committee agreed.
MOTION
Motion moved by Ellen Sturgis to appoint Tracy Conte as Special Education Director for Nashoba Regional School District. Seconded by Tricia Kelly IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
NEW BUSINESS
Foreign Language Task Force Presentation
Margaret Morgan, Principal of the Hale Middle School and Chair of the Foreign Language Task Force presented a PowerPoint presentation of the Foreign Language Task Force Report to the committee. Highlights of this report included:
¨ The NRSD mission- to offer a program of Foreign Language which will provide a rich and diverse foundation
¨ Findings- proficiency in foreign language necessary to compete successfully in global economy
¨ Majority of schools that offer foreign language in middle school offer a 2 year language program
¨ Recommendations- provide students the opportunity to achieve proficiency in foreign language
¨ provide students the opportunity to study more than one language (high school)
¨ provide students the opportunity to make cultural connection across disciplines
¨ Increase depth of course offerings
¨ Offer diversity of languages
¨ Offer advanced placement courses in all languages
¨ Offer professional development to NRSD staff regarding integrating culture within all disciplines
Committee member David Horne inquired about the District offering foreign language to all K-12 students. Discussion endued among the committee. Ms. Morgan told the committee that she believes the next step would be to form a committee that could address the issue of foreign language for the District, rather than the task force.
Recognition of the NASHOBA Slammers
Mr. Burke introduced Valerie Keenan, coach of the NASHOBA Slammers. Ms. Keenan addressed the committee and thanked them for recognizing her team. She told the committee that the team won 29 straight games and won every game and tournament they competed in. She introduced the team members and told the committee she truly enjoyed coaching them.
Differentiated Instruction
Mr. Wood presented a PowerPoint presentation of the Differentiated Instruction Walk-Through data, which Ms. Sullivan prepared. He also called their attention to Appendix VIII B2- Methodology and Appendix VIII B3- the Differentiated Instruction Walk-Through Checklist. Mr. Wood told the committee the purpose of the walk-throughs is to gauge the extent to which
differentiated instruction strategies and techniques are being implemented within the District classrooms. Discussion ensued among the committee. Ms. Sturgis inquired as to whether the District was going to continue the practice of walk-throughs. Mr. Wood said that he would like to see them happen on a regular basis. Mr. Govindan commented that his daughter is not being challenged and he is hopeful she will be next year in Grade 8. Mr. Burke inquired about requesting that the Policy Subcommittee give a report on moderating or limiting the practice of Differentiated Instruction. Ms Kelly commented that this was not a new problem and that there are district parents that feel their students are not getting what they need and would rather hire tutors. Mr. Wood told the committee that good teaching is personalized learning for all students. He explained the term “clustering” and said that the District has clarified for the teachers the standards
required by the Department of Education. Mr. Wood said they have worked to identify the top ten standards in all subject areas, and that teachers have been told these are the ones they need to concentrate on and really stress with students.
Grant Acceptance
Mr. Wood called the committees attention to the information in their packet regarding a grant of $1,500 from the Lancaster Cultural Council to the Mary Rowlandson and Luther Burbank Schools for cultural enrichments.
MOTION
Motion moved by Monica CampoBasso to accept the grant of $1,500 from the Lancaster Cultural Council to the Mary Rowlandson and Luther Burbank Schools for cultural enrichments. Seconded by Mel Govindan IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
Architectural Firm for High School/Admin Study
Mr. Wood called the committees attention to the Facilities Subcommittee minute of April 26, 2007 in which two architectural firms were interviewed. They were Whittier and Lamoureux-Pagano.
MOTION
Motion moved by Ellen Sturgis to authorize the district to enter into negotiations with Lamoureux-Pagano as the firm to do the feasibility study for the high school/admin space study. Seconded by Tricia Kelly IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
Results of Operations- Third Quarter
Mr. King addressed the committee and called their attention to Appendix VIII E1 and E2. Mr. King Gave a brief overview of the third quarter results of operations. He told the committee that there were a few minor concerns that will require a transfer. He said that the good news is that items that have been significant budget concerns in past years appear to be in good shape. Mr. King told the committee there may be a surplus in special education that should allow the excess and deficiency account to be healthy enough to support the $340,000 that was allocated for next year’s budget. Ms. Kelly asked if the committee could get a list of intramurals at the middle schools for the year. Mr. Wood said that they could get this list. Ms. Giunta asked if Mr. O’Brien could give a report and Mr.
Wood said that he could have a report for them at the end of the year.
MOTION
Motion moved by Ellen Sturgis to continue business after 9:00 p.m. Seconded by Mel Govindan IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
Administrative Reorganization
Mr. Wood called the committee’s attention to Appendix VIII F, an organizational chart included in the packet for the evening. He spoke to the committee about the addition of a Human Resource Director. He also informed the committee that Leslie McInnis has been hired as the Director of Student Health Services, replacing Ann Farrell who recently departed from the District.
MOTION
Motion moved by Ellen Sturgis to instruct the superintendent to create the new position of Human Resource Director as recommended by the superintendent.
Seconded by Mel Govindan IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
OLD BUSINESS
Minuteman Science and Technology Agreement
The committee reviewed the changes they requested and that were added to the Minuteman Science and Technology Agreement.
MOTION
Motion moved by Ellen Sturgis to approve the Minuteman Science & Technology Agreement between Minuteman Regional Vocational High School and Nashoba Regional School District. Seconded Monica CampoBasso IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
CITIZEN INPUT
Ann Needle of Stow commented that she did not care for “clustering”.
ADJOURN
MOTION
Motion moved by Tricia Kelly to adjourn the regular meeting of the School committee. Seconded by Ellen Sturgis IN FAVOR: Ellen Sturgis, Brian Burke, Monica CampoBasso, Cathy Giunta, Mel Govindan, Tricia Kelly, David Horne, VOTED AND PASSED. UNANIMOUS (7-0)
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Linda DeStasi
Executive Assistant
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